sustainable style foundation*

Josh Dorfman is a busy guy these days. In addition to being the Founder & CEO of fab sustainable furniture retailer Vivavi and green home guide Modern Green Living and the host of "The Lazy Environmentalist" radio show on Lime.com, he's written a book of same name that's now available in stores. The Lazy Environmentalist is a positive, hip treatment of the idea that we can all make more sustainable lifestyle choices every day; it's not that we're all lazy, but we're busy people who don't always have the time to keep up with the latest in environmental activism. It's a realistic take on the topic, assuming that we aren't interested in living in the dark and wearing burlap (which, while a bit of an exaggeration, is true, right?); given that, it's still very proactive, and is really an excellent guide for folks who are interested in engaging in more sustainable lifestyles, but who may not know how to approach different facts of this, or know where to start (and, in the interest of full disclosure, we should mention that SSF is mentioned a handful of times as a resource for learning more -- thanks Josh!). Learn more about the book at The Lazy Environmentalist website, and order the book from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Powells.com or pick it up at your local bookseller. Congratulations, Josh! [The Lazy Environmentalist]

From CHOW.com comes "Counter Measures: Ten Ways to Green Your Kitchen", with a "Top Ten" list, of sorts, of ways to make your kitchen a little greener. Included on the list are the results of dishwasher vs. hand-washing water-usage throw-down, ideas for choosing the right pans, tips for cooking with energy efficiency in mind and more. Our favorite: stock your fridge. That's right; "...a full refrigerator uses less energy than an empty one: Every time you open and close the door, the fridge has to kick in to reregulate its temperature. If there’s food in there already, there’s less outside air introduced, therefore less outside air that needs to be cooled." Check out the full list at [CHOW.com] via [Apartment Therapy]

SSF has been pleased to see the size of the crowd at Seattle Greendrinks grow to some pretty impressive numbers over the past four years. The monthly get-together (every second Tuesday, around 5:30 pm) at different environmentally-minded businesses and organizations around town (SSF has hosted before) has become a great way to network and stay connected with other sustainability professionals and enthusiasts (and anyone who's attended a Green Drinks in any other city has probably experienced the same). Seattle Greendrinks recently launched a new website that aims to keep the community growing and informed all month long. In addition to event announcements, the site offers forums, member blogs (after you complete the free registration) and job postings, with promises of much more to come soon. It's a great way to keep up with the latest on Greendrinks here in town, and will hopefully help the community's continued growth. Surf on over to the new site and click around for awhile; the only thing that's really different from the event is the beer.

Reminder: Seattle Greendrinks is tonight! It's being hosted by Stewardship Partners and Conscious Choice at Evo, at 122 NW 36th St in Fremont. This month boasts an after-party, featuring the band "Tilted Blue," starting at 8:30. See you there!

Our pals at The Lazy Environmentalist have been busy scouring the planet, looking for all the places to find more sustainable fashion and apparel, and they've come up with a pretty comprehensive list. From a host of online shops to brick-n-mortar boutiques from New York to Los Angeles and many places in between, there are fewer and fewer places that you can't find organic cotton, bamboo jersey and other more sustainable choices for the clothes you wear. Click on over to the list to find out where to find eco-fashion near you. [The Lazy Environmentalist]

SSF is a big fan of utilizing design to incorporate more sustainable ideas, practices and products into our lives. Sometimes, though, we like to think about these things on a larger scale and work more on systems rather than just products and stuff. One of the ways to do this, and really have a more sustainable lifestyle, is to undertake a major home project, like a remodel, and incorporate as many sustainable designs as possible along the way. We like to think of it as going green, from the inside out.

Thanks to the advent and explosion in popularity of blogs, there are lots of ways to keep an eye on this process. A new one that is doing a pretty thorough job of this is called EcoVertex, which we found through our friends at Apartment Therapy in San Francisco. The blog follows the ins and outs of a home remodel, sustainble-style, of one Celia Canfield. One of the things we like best about it is that Celia doesn't claim any expertise or have a whole lot of experience thinking about and sourcing green ideas and products; even so, she's discovered Richlite countertops, has thought through the idea of carbon offsets as a guilty pleasure, and found a favorite green paint. The best part: she's learning as she goes and is showing that you don't have to be a pro to really dig in to green design and green products for all the right reasons. If you're thinking about (or are already in the middle of) re-thinking your home and remodeling a room or two, we recommend taking a peek. It looks like they post about once a week, but each post is substantive and thoughtful; check out more at her blog. [EcoVertex] via [Apartment Therapy]